Meta layoffs: Reality Labs reportedly restructured with focus on AR and Metaverse

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has announced a major restructuring of its hardware division, Reality Labs, marking the most significant reorganisation since its renaming in 2020. This was first reported by The Verge's Alex Heath in his Command Line newsletter. This move reflects Meta's evolving strategy, with a sharper focus on both augmented reality (AR) and the Metaverse.

The restructuring consolidates Reality Labs into two primary groups:

Metaverse: This group encompasses the Quest headset line, Horizon (Meta's social network), and related technologies.

Wearables: This new group includes the remainder of Meta's hardware efforts, including its smart glasses collaboration with Ray-Ban.

The restructuring also resulted in layoffs, though Meta has declined to disclose the exact number. Sources indicate that the cuts are relatively small and focused on leadership roles that are now redundant due to the new organisational structure.

In an internal memo obtained by Heath said, Meta CTO Andrew "Boz" Bosworth outlines the rationale for the changes, emphasising the company's commitment to both AR and the Metaverse. He notes the success of Ray-Ban Meta glasses, highlighting their positive implications for Meta's AR roadmap.

"We have the leading AI device on the market right now, and we are doubling down on finding strong product market fit for wearable Meta AI, building a business around it, and expanding the audience," Bosworth wrote. "Our north star to overlay digital content seamlessly onto the physical world remains the same but the steps on that path just got a lot more exciting."

The decision to move the Quest headset line to the Metaverse group reflects the technology's distinct nature from Meta's AR hardware. The memo also emphasises Meta's commitment to Horizon, despite its slow adoption so far.

"We are deeply committed to investing in Horizon as the core foundation of our social, spatial Horizon OS, and high-quality experiences for both mixed reality and mobile," Bosworth stated.

These changes appear to reflect a long-overdue streamlining of Reality Labs, which had grown unwieldy in its previous structure. This restructuring places key leadership roles in the hands of Alex Himel, who heads Wearables, and Vishal Shah, who now oversees both Horizon and the Quest line.

Meta's dedication to AR remains unwavering. The company is expected to unveil more details about its upcoming AR glasses later this year, with the next generation of Ray-Ban glasses with a display anticipated for release next year.

"The org chart doesn’t primarily determine whether we succeed or fail, our execution does," Bosworth wrote in his memo. "But by setting it up this way I hope we reduce overhead and allow people across teams to come together and execute with a more unified view of who our customers are and how we can best serve them."